NBA draft

Elite Daily blogger Connor Toole makes good use of his height

(Newser) -
A lanky blogger walked into Barclays Center in Brooklyn Thursday night pretending to be an NBA Draft pick—and it worked, Fox Sports reports. The 6-foot-10-inch Connor Toole first posed for photos with fans outside the Center, then sauntered inside and got right out on the floor. "It turns...
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Cleveland passes on big men to take injured Anthony Bennett in NBA draft

(Newser) -
The Cleveland Cavaliers selected UNLV freshman Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 pick tonight, a surprising start to the NBA draft. The Cavaliers passed on big men Nerlens Noel and Alex Len in favor of the forward who has starred for Canada's junior national teams and was the Mountain...
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(Newser) -
Women get excited over dresses at the Oscars. J.E. Skeets of Yahoo Sports gets excited about suits at the NBA draft. Here are his picks for the best- and worst-dressed players at last night's big event:

(Newser) -
Power forward Blake Griffin is almost certainly the No. 1 pick in tonight’s NBA draft, and that scares the bejesus out of Griffin fan Gregg Doyel. “Superstars as the No. 1 pick are the exception to the rule,” Doyel writes on CBS Sports.com, conceding the point...
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Chicago has waited long enough, and this 19-year-old is ready

(Newser) -
Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson said after last night's NBA draft that he thinks the team should give Derrick Rose some time to settle in, but he seems to be the only person who thinks so, writes Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times. The No. 1 draft pick says he...
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Rose goes first, in glut of college freshmen

(Newser) -
The Bulls grabbed Derrick Rose with the first overall pick last night in a wild NBA draft dominated by college freshmen. For the first time in history, the top three picks all were first-year wonders, ESPN reports. The Timberwolves then traded that third pick—OJ Mayo—for No. 5 pick...
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Cocaine killed the athlete 22 years ago, but the impact lingers

(Newser) -
Twenty-two years ago, Celtics legend Larry Bird called the sudden death of new Boston draftee Len Bias "one of the the cruelest things I've ever heard." The legacy of the Maryland basketball great, whose NBA career ended with cocaine use just two days after it began, retains its...
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Mayo scandal shocks few, and penalties remain slight

(Newser) -
The NBA can't stop agents from scurrying around high school and college basketball these days, offering illegal gifts to sign young players. Although the players are getting younger—more go pro right out of high school—punishments for players and agents alike remain slight, the New York Times reports.
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Trail Blazers rookie out 6-12 months after microfracture surgery

(Newser) -
The top pick in the NBA draft will likely spend the 2007-08 season on the bench after exploratory surgery on Greg Oden's right knee revealed cartilage damage, ESPN.com reports. The Portland Trail Blazers' 7-footer will spend eight weeks off after surgeons fixed the problem today with microfracture surgery, but...
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Portland gives the faltering guard free agency for $30 million

(Newser) -
The Trail Blazers bought out Steve Francis's contract yesterday, handing the guard roughly $30 million of the $33.6 million due for his remaining two years. Portland acquired the 30-year-old former All-Star in a deal with the Knicks, who dished out Francis and Channing Frye for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau,...
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(Newser) -
The Bucks are doing everything to secure No. 6 pick Yi Jianlian, including showering him with team merchandise at his Summer League game this Saturday. Now commissioner David Stern is joining the effort. Sports Illustrated reports that as GM Larry Harris and coach Larry Krystkowiak woo the 7-foot Chinese phenom,...
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Will he be the No. 1 draft pick—or will Buckeyes center Greg Oden?

(Newser) -
Longhorns freshman heartthrob Kevin Durant has announced he will leave Texas for the NBA draft. Durant averaged a frankly absurd 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds over the course of an award-sweeping first-year campaign that ended one game short of the Sweet Sixteen. Texas benefitted from a new...
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Sophomore forward/center Josh McRoberts will enter the draft

(Newser) -
Duke co-captain Josh McRoberts will enter the NBA draft, he announced yesterday, just a week after his Blue Devils fell in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Duke men’s basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski is OK with that. “It is time for him...
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